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Immunotherapy

Using your body's own immune system to help fight a disease

Sierra Nevada Cancer Center stays abreast of the latest in cancer research and treatment developments in order to provide our patients with the best possible treatment options. Each year Dr. Perez attends numerous conferences and seminars throughout the country and the world in order to bring the latest in FDA-approved cancer care home to his patients.

While chemotherapy is the most widely used cancer treatment, Sierra Nevada Cancer Center also uses various cancer vaccines, biologicals, and immunotherapies as part of our arsenal of cancer fighting tools.

Immunotherapy Lung Cancer

Among the most exciting recent development in immunotherapy for cancer treatment is the use of nivolumab (Opdivo®) for the treatment of advanced (metastatic) squamous NSCLC that has failed chemotherapy. Once thought of as a type of cancer that was poorly immunogenic, lung cancer has recently emerged as an exciting new target of immune-based therapies. FDA approved in the spring of 2015, this therapy resulted in a 40% reduced risk of death for patients with the disease in clinical trials.

Other Immunotherapies

Breast cancer immunotherapy and immunotherapy for prostate cancer are both being actively researched, studied and put through clinic trial with promising results. We look forward to watching the developments and adding to our arsenal of cancer fighting tools.